Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi Theodore Tavi Hein
Poem for the Forgotten In the Shadows of the Golden City of Hope
For String Quartet
2026
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
Program Notes I am six, Walking with a skip,
Dinosaurs and rocks and minerals swirl in my mind. The museum, as big as a palace, Outside, I stop in fear. I see a man huddled, shivering in the cold. I learn that this is his home. My fear turns to sadness. I give my birthday money to help every year, But it is never enough.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
I am sixteen, Driving home with family, After a day of music studies in New York City. We drive by multi-billion dollar of ce buildings, Gleaming and looming over the city with cold, impersonal gazes. We sit in traf c. I watch a group of people scrambling to build a shelter on a winter city sidewalk. Skyscrapers, masterful feats of architecture and engineering, monuments of wealth and enterprise, Casting shadows over people, who have nothing, Except their own ingenuity and will to survive. I see friendship, people working together, Hauling discarded construction waste and the thrown-away belongings of their city neighbors To build a home. I see a silent wall of buildings, empty for the night, The only inhabitants on the block, huddled outside. The light of technologically sleek screens illuminates my view. I see people left behind in a modern, fast-moving world. Their humanity cuts through the silence, screaming in my mind.
Re ecting the hardships of struggling community members, especially people without homes, Poem For The Forgotten seeks to give a voice to those left behind in the technological, sometimes dehumanizing, often isolating, fast-paced reality of modern life. From the very beginning of the piece, at bar two, I present a theme that represents people on the sidelines of society and their perseverance through hardship. This theme serves as the primary voice of people left without physical resources, emotional support, or even shelter, in the shadows of an af uent city. The repeated, propulsive, rhythmic sections, incorporating sixteenth notes, (coming in for the rst time at B), represent the often impersonal pace of the city and function like a cold march of technological detachment and indifference. Working in tandem with the march, another theme, that is rst stated at G, represents the af uent life of the city and its insulated world. The pomp and circumstance of this celebratory theme, representing this other world of prosperity, stands in stark contrast to the day-to-day struggles of those left behind. Through all of this, the voices of struggling people break through, reminding us of their battle to live. At bar ve, opposing gestures of piercing violin lines cut through the texture. The discordant gestures represent life throwing a wrench, whether it be the loss of a job or a family member, physical or mental illness, trauma, addiction, or an inability to break free from unhealthy circumstances. The eerie dissonance heralds a problem that pushes people from their last hold on security and into the cold indifference of a faceless society that seems to prefer not to see their struggles. At N, a long passage of solo and duo melodies emerges. This is the heart of the piece where the struggling people tell their stories to us. They speak of the harsh realities they face and the notes move with their sadness. They also reveal their love, friendship, and remembrances. Each instrumentalist stands in for the voice of a person. They are someone's mother, father, sister, brother - ordinary people forgotten by the ruthless progress of modern life. By X, however, the theme representing the other city world, that of af uence, comes back with all its forceful celebration and impersonal detachment from the world outside their reality. At AA, at the de nitive climax of the piece, the theme representing the forgotten people returns, now screamingly loud. They sing of their hope and their voices rise in a ght to survive until the technological march of modern life and the city takes over, trampling over all and moving onward, silencing them. I hope, in my small way, that this piece shines a light on the humanity of people on the edge of society, but also challenges us to reimagine the way our world operates. I recognize that the issues my piece explores are very complex and that the causes are multifaceted and that there are many individuals and organizations working extremely hard to solve these issues. I understand that struggling community members exist not only in cities, but also in suburban and rural settings. I also understand that my title does not t every circumstance because many family, friends, and organizations are not forgetting people; they are working very hard and care very much about people in dif cult circumstances, and sometimes their help is rejected. I have taken artistic liberty in order to shine a light on a moment in time when I saw a stark contrast between the haves and the have-nots, but this does not represent the full spectrum and complexity of these issues. My subtitle for Poem for the Forgotten is In the Shadows of the Golden City of Hope because I do have hope that all of the good qualities and possibilities of our cities, as well as the education and generosity of its community members, may lead the way to creative solutions to the challenges of our most vulnerable citizens. As a young person, I also see that I and my generation have a lot of work to do to make a difference.
Duration: Ca: 10:00'
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
World Premiere Performed by The Dolphins Quartet as part of the Young Composers Program in the spring of 2026
Dedicated to the People and Organizations Working to Help Struggling Community Members and The Dolphins Quartet, for whom this piece was written
POEM FOR THE FORGOTTEN
Theodore Tavi Hein (2026)
In the Shadows of the Golden City of Hope
Violin 1
molto espressivo, molto vibrato
Dark, Tragic and Free = 54
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
Violin 2
Viola
Violoncello
8
ord.
13
tasto sul
poco accel.
A
a tempo
sub.
molto espressivo, molto vibrato
sul tasto
sub.
Copyright 2026 Theodore Tavi Hein, All Rights Reserved
6
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
17
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
accel.
22
= 114
B With Relentless Propulsive Motion Throughout
25
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
7
28 C
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
31
34 pizz. D
sul pont.
37
8
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
40 E
ord.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
43
F 46
arco
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
49
G
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
9
52
pizz.
pizz.
ord.
martelé
pizz.
arco
arco
pizz.
arco
arco
55
pizz.
arco
H
espressivo
10
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
59
espressivo
espressivo
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
63
67
spicc.
I
ord.
détaché
off the string
ord. sub.
détaché
off the string
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
72
ord.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
J
11
sub. 75
78
port.
12
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
81
molto
arco pizz.
molto
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
arco pizz.
86
K
89
L
molto
pizz.
arco
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
92
ord.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
sul pont.
13
sul pont.
96
pizz.
pizz.
arco
arco
ord.
M
sul pont.
sul pont.
ord.
sul pont.
sul tasto ord.
ord.
ord. pizz.
Mournfully = 54–60
103
N
sul pont.
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
port.
pizz. with the ngernail
O
pizz. 126
P
arco
arco
ord.
arco
pizz. arco
espressivo
119
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
112
14
Q
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
131
R
137
port.
arco
sub. pizz.
S
T
142
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
arco
15
pizz.
16
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
U
147
pizz.
arco
(optional sul D)
V
pizz.
pizz.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
port.
arco
152
sounds out of sync
sounds out of sync
pizz.
molto espressivo
Vln. 1 and 2 sound out of sync
accel.
arco
Vln. 1 and 2 sound out of sync
arco
W 155
pizz.
arco
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
157
arco
molto rit.
17
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
X
159
= 114 With Severe Power and Propulsive Motion
détaché
détaché
détaché
ord.
162
ord.
ord.
18
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein Y
With Remorseful Suspense 165 ord. accel.
détaché
a tempo
détaché
ord.
ord.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
détaché
détaché
169
ord.
off the string
détaché
détaché
off the string
173
ord.
Z
ord.
Poem for the Forgotten by Theodore Tavi Hein
177
molto rit.
Pe ru C Th o sal p eo yr O n do ig ly h He re t in Ta vi
19
181 tutta con forza! AA
With Utmost Intensity = 50
tutta con forza! con tutta
forza!
con tutta forza! 190
sul G
molto rit.
Larghissimo = 24